


Chin up

by smolmandzo



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 10:59:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16407179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smolmandzo/pseuds/smolmandzo





	Chin up

The worst defeat in Croatia’s history.

Cheers to that. Luka thought. We’re gonna rise up from here.

Sergio walked up to him in the middle of the field, they exchanged their shirts, shared a hug and talked briefly as the people were slowly leaving the stadium. 

When he made his way towards the tunnel he felt Zlatko’s stare on him and that was far enough to make him froze. He then gathered all the courage he had and decided to go talk with him. He predicted every work his coach had to say, he knew him way too well. Luka tried his best to pay attention during the conversation, but his mind kept drifting away. It kept concentrating on one thing, on one person in particular. Ivan.

He nodded a few times to make sure Zlatko didn’t notice how absent he really was in that moment.

I need to talk with him. That’s all he could think about. I really need to talk with him.

Luka felt so relieved when Zlato patted on his shoulder and walked away from him. His eyes wandered a little and finally, they met Ivan’s. He was sitting next to Iva on the bench. 

He didn’t hesitate and reached for them in a matter of seconds. Iva got up and hugged him lovingly. Luka caressed her hair and kissed her forehead. Words can’t really explain how grateful he felt to have her by his side during every match. Iva quickly left the two of them alone making up some kind of excuse. 

Ivan’s eyes were locked on the ground. 

Does he care about my presence in this exact moment? Is it a really good idea to talk to him?

Luka didn’t dare to open his mouth and quietly agreed to himself that the best thing to do was leaving him alone.

“Luka…” Ivan spoke sofly. “I need you to stay here.”

I need you to stay here. Luka kept repeating this over and over in his mind. He needs me to stay here.

Then he sat beside him and took a deep breath.

“Ivan, I’m proud of you” Luka said while looking off in the distance. “I wanted this to be a special match for you. You don’t deserve this”

“And what do I deserve, huh?” Ivan asked sharply, now looking at Luka in the eyes for the first time.

“You deserve… you deserve to be happy. You deserve to smile. God knows how much I miss seeing you smile” Luka closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, regretting saying those words. 

His eyes were still shut when he felt Ivan leaning on him, resting his head on his thighs.

Luka could feel his heart in his throat. He held his breath a few seconds to realize that all of this was real, Ivan was there and needed him, he was real, just as real as the warm teardrops Luka felt rolling down on his right calf. 

“Ivan” Luka said while proceeding to help his teammate to get up from his position. “Ivan, look at me.”

But Ivan didn’t, he simply wiped his tears away and kept looking at his feet.

Luka positioned his hand under Ivan’s chin in order to meet his eyes.

“Chin up, Raketa. This is the our worst defeat in history, right? Cheers to that” His earlier thoughts finally made their way from his brain to his tongue. “We are in this together, you know that, and you know we are fighters. We are gonna fight back” 

Luka couldn’t take his eyes off from Ivan’s now red and puffy cheeks, he stroked his hair and leaned to kiss his right temple. 

“What would I do without you?” Ivan said with a reassuring smile on his lips.

Luka reached for Ivan’s hand and held it tightly, then he kissed it and placed it on his heart.

“What would I do without you?” Luka repeated Ivan’s words and looked at him once again before closing the gap between their lips.


End file.
